FYS 66 The Uncanny
Why do certain houses, places, and robots make us feel uneasy? Sigmund Freud might tip his hat to their “uncanny” effect – their “unheimlich” or “unhomely” qualities. But what does that mean? Freud spent many hours and pages digging into this slippery concept of the “familiar” but “strange,” never quite pinpointing it with definitional certainty. We’ll pursue this puzzle by looking at art, literature, film, history, music, technology, and sociological practices through an uncanny lens. In the process, we’ll explore related concepts, such as “the sublime,” “the eerie,” “the abject,” “the gothic,” and “the weird.” Horror and sci-fi fans, psychology enthusiasts, and buffs of the unusual – get ready to rumble with Stanley Kubrick, Robert Wiene, Toni Morrison, Kazuo Ishiguro, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Stephen King, Octavia Butler, Edogawa Rampo, the Brothers Quay, Ridley Scott, Mary Shelley, and many, many more. Assignments include weekly readings and films, short written responses, a brief presentation, and three papers. Needless to say, we will haunt the library with our interdisciplinary research. There might even be a field trip into the uncanny landscape of Los Angeles. Please note that some of the texts for this course may be disturbing. Feel free to contact the instructor if you have any questions.
Prerequisite
Open only to first year frosh